Ghostly experiences fuel author's new novel

David Hayes has just released his third book, Ghosts and Other Aberrations, following a similarly spooky second publication and his literary debut in 2016, which chronicled his Leigh upbringing.

“I have always written in some form or other – poems, songs etc – but mostly for my own amusement,” said the Tyldesley 62-year-old. “I always felt embarrassed about my writing, I suppose it’s the background I come from. One evening, I posted a short story on Facebook. It was well-received, and I was asked to post more of them. I kind of ended up with a following. They were pushing me to put the stories down in book form.”

His online tales soon caught the eye of Bronwyn Books, who offered to publish them. His first book was a compilation of stories and anecdotes from his childhood growing up in Leigh, through the ’60s and ’70s. Titled What Has He Done Now?, David described the book as a “gentle and whimsical walk through the sights, sounds and experiences of my childhood. I know that this book is treasured by quite a few people, as it was almost a blueprint of their youth, too,” he added.

But David has always had a passion for paranormal tales. Perhaps not surprising, given his birthday of October 31 (Hallowe’en).

His second book, Mysteria – An Anthology of Spooky and Mysterious Tales, was entirely different from his first. He said: “I have always had a passion for a good, well told ghost story, and have had quite a few paranormal experiences of my own from my very youngest years. I am also an amateur paranormal investigator.

“I suppose I was brought up with it. The old house I was born in had its fair share of activity. It wasn’t really spoken about much in those days. I have always been something of a storyteller. I was brought up on old-fashioned, fireside ghost stories.”

Of his third outing, he said: “All the stories have a twist in the tale. Quite a lot are also tear-jerkers. I love it when people say that my stories not only scare them but also move them emotionally.”

Ghosts and Other Aberrations and David’s other works are available to buy now on Amazon.